USF received verbal commit No. 17 for their 2020 recruiting class on Wednesday when three-star cornerback Christopher Townsel out of Deerfield Beach declared his intention to become a Bull.

Head coach Charlie Strong and staff beat out the likes of Rutgers, Iowa State and Nebraska, who were listed in Townsel’s top four along with USF.

CB Christopher Townsel

6’2”, 176 pounds

Deerfield Beach High School, Deerfield Beach, FL

Recruiting Rankings (for now): Three-star by 247 (0.8265 Composite Score) and Rivals.

Other Notable Offers: Nebraska, Iowa State, Rutgers, Indiana, Minnesota, Ole Miss

Palm Beach/North Broward Area Recruiter: Sean Cronin

As you can see, USF held off a number of power five programs to secure the tall corner out of Broward County.

Townsel comes from a traditionally talent-rich program in Deerfield Beach that currently features 12 FBS verbal commits on the roster, including four-star prospects Jaylan Knighton (Florida State), Aydin Henningham (Pittsburgh) and Bryce Gowdy (Georgia Tech).

Coming off a trip to the Class 8A semifinals last year, the Bucks opened the season with losses to national powers Carol City and St. John’s out of D.C. before rattling off three-straight shutouts over Blanche Ely (42-0), Zachary out of Louisiana (53-0) and Oak Ridge (42-0). In the Zachary victory, Townsel and the defense held them to only three first downs in the entire first half.

The corner and his team will be in action this Friday when hosting Boca Raton.

2020 Verbal Commits

• Tampa Gaither LB Chance Coleman
• Braden River RB Brian Battie
• Gainesville DT Gentle Hunt
• Lake City Columbia QB Jordan Smith
• OT Miller Merriweather-Lewis, WR Da’Quan Bailey-Brown, ATH Marquez Bell, LB Le’Vontae Camiel
• Daytona Beach Mainland RB Taron Keith and DeLand CB Ben Knox
• Valdosta High School QB Tate Rodemaker
• The Villages Charter School DB Mac Harris
• Dunnelon DB AJ Hamilton
• Ft. Lauderdale American Heritage OG Khristopher Love
• Port Orange Atlantic LB Ty Berrong
• Wauchula OT Evan Webster